Girl's killing a 'one time occurrence,' police chief says

BOULDER, Colorado (CNN) -- The murder of six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was probably not the work of a serial killer, but apparently a one-time event, Boulder's Police Chief Tom Koby said.

"It is the best judgment of the Boulder Police Department that this is a one-time occurrence," Koby said, speaking at a local cable appearance with local reporters. "The killing of JonBenet does not appear to be linked to any other similar event. We do not believe that we have a serial situation to deal with."

Koby stressed that Boulder citizens have no reason to fear another murder, although he said there are no suspects in the case. Her death was the only homicide in Boulder last year.

JonBenet Ramsey's body was found by her father, John Ramsey, in the family's 15-room home in Boulder the day after Christmas. The discovery came six hours after her mother, Patricia Ramsey, reported the girl was missing and that a ransom note had been found.

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The coroner said that the former Little Miss Colorado was strangled and that a cord was found around her neck

Koby Thursday refused to confirm or deny reports that JonBenet's killer had fractured her skull, placed duct tape over her mouth, put a white cord around her neck and sexually assaulted her.

"This situation is a sick curiosity to the rest of the country," he said.

He chided the media for speculating about the case and said a "barrage" of publicity has hampered the investigation. He asked journalists to back away and give his investigators a chance to do their jobs.

"Back off a little bit and give us some room to do our jobs," he said. "Prejudging and media hype have never solved a crime."

He cautioned reporters not to draw conclusions from the decision by JonBenet's parents to hire a lawyer and to follow the advice to not submit to police interviews.

"There is nothing wrong with the Ramseys retaining counsel," Koby said. "We are still in communications with the Rampseys' attorneys."

He said police were with the family "for quite a period of time" the day after the murder, but did not conduct interviews then.

"There is a difference between talking to the parents and being able to interview the parents," Koby said. "There is no way to be able to interview parents at that point in time. It's impossible."